


The Ghost

by Selenic



Series: 'The Ghost' AU [1]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: AU, Halloween, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-01
Updated: 2012-11-01
Packaged: 2017-11-17 12:51:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/551762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selenic/pseuds/Selenic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John shivered despite his warm coat, the cold October air seeping into his bones. He quickened his pace; he was already late for his night shift at the mortuary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ghost

**Author's Note:**

  * For [popkin16](https://archiveofourown.org/users/popkin16/gifts).



> Another quickly written fic inspired by the Halloween Trick or Treat meme :) And my second ever AU!
> 
> This treat is for [popkin16](http://archiveofourown.org/users/popkin16/pseuds/popkin16), who more often than once has put a smile on my face when the world seems gray. Thank you!
> 
> Unbetad, all mistakes are mine, all comments are welcomed! (Crossposted on [LJ](http://selenic76.livejournal.com/8227.html))

  

The Ghost

 

The sun had set only moments ago, and the clouds hung ragged and bloody in the evening sky. John shivered despite his warm coat, the cold October air seeping into his bones. He quickened his pace; he was already late for his night shift at the mortuary.

It was easy work, overseeing the traffic of bodies, keeping the place clean. Not much of a challenge, but John liked it. It paid the bills, and he had the days to himself to spend as he pleased. Most of the time that meant surfing, playing the guitar, or hanging around the airfield watching planes land and take off.

John left the studying for nights, it helped pass the time. He already knew everything there was to know about airplanes in theory, but getting discharged from the Air Force had put a serious dent in his plans to become a fighter pilot. Guess he wasn’t cut out to take stupid orders from incompetent sergeants. But soon he’d have enough money saved to pay for flying lessons, and then he would be one more step closer to his dream; setting up his own air charter company.

Finally at his destination, John searched for his keys, and barely managed to pick the right one and use it, his fingers numb from the cold. Pushing through the first pair of heavy double doors, John welcomed the warm air rushing to meet him.

“Sorry I’m late, Jimmy!” he shouted as he removed his coat and hurried along the dimly lit hallway. “The damn bus was late, and full of people in Hallo—“ stepping through the inner doors, he was met with a horrifying sight. “—ween, costumes...” his voice trailed of, echoing in the silence. Jimmy lay on the floor in a dark puddle of blood, face contorted into a mask of sheer terror.

The world seemed to spin for a moment. The bright orange of the cheap Halloween paper streamers hung everywhere created a macabre contrast to the ghastly green and red of the stained linoleum floor, making John feel sick. And then...

Jimmy blinked.

“Dammit, Jimmy!” John yelled, annoyed yet relieved, and soon couldn’t help but join in Jimmy’s booming laughter. After all, he’d pulled his share of pranks on Jimmy, so he deserved the payback.

“Admit it, I totally got you!” Jimmy exclaimed breathlessly as he ambled up from the sticky floor. “Man, you should’ve seen your face, white as a ghost!”

“Yeah, yeah. You got me,” John conceded, hanging up his coat. “Now clean up this mess and there won’t be any repercussions.”

“Oh, no. You were late, so I’m late, which means the mess is yours. I have to go get changed, and head out, there’s a party waiting for me.” And before John could complain about it, the still grinning Jimmy had already grabbed his coat and dashed through the doors. “Happy Halloween!” he shouted, and was gone.

So, it was either leave things be and stare at the gruesome goo all night, or grab the mop and get it over with. With a sigh, John set out to do the latter.

The next few hours passed peacefully, only one admittance and no retrievals, which left lots of time for studying.

Suddenly the lights flickered. Lifting his eyes from the book, John saw nothing out of the ordinary. Then it happened again, and this time there was a rush of air and a faint ‘whoomph’ sound coming from the next room. Where the bodies were kept. Getting up from his seat behind the reception desk, John cautiously walked around the corner.

He really wanted to believe that what he was seeing would be just another prank set up by Jimmy, but he doubted the young man had the capability to set something like this up.

There was a ghost in the middle of the room. Pale, slightly transparent, but clearly a man in shape. About John’s age, slightly rounder around the waist , and wearing a permanent looking scowl. He seemed to be holding some sort of device in his hand, and was muttering at it quietly.

The thing didn’t appear very threatening, so John decided he might as well try to communicate with it, find out what it wants. “Um, hello?”

The apparition turned his head towards the sound, and a brief smile appeared on the man’s face. “Ah, John Sheppard, I presume?” The device was aimed at John, waved around in his general direction, and before he could answer anything the ghost continued: “Yes, it’s definitely you. Excellent!”

Walking up to John the ghost extended his hand in greeting, and John automatically took it. It felt tingly, but definitely solid. “Wow, this is weird,” he said quietly, more curious than actually scared. “Never touched a ghost before.”

“And you still haven’t,” the transparent man told him curtly. “Time is short, so listen carefully. My name is Doctor Rodney McKay, I’m not from the future, I come from a parallel universe. No, you’re not dreaming, nor am I a ghost. Yes , I’m human, also a genius I might add, and I must ask you to leave your life here and come with me.”

“What?” John’s brain supplied for lack of anything more coherent to say. He noticed that Rodney McKay, genius or not, hadn’t for some reason let go of his hand.

“You are a carrier of the ATA gene, the strongest instance of it I’ve come across, and Atlantis needs you.” When there was still no reply from John, the gh— man gave a frustrated sigh, and changed tactics. “You wanna fly spaceships?”

That got John’s attention. “You mean, for real? Like in outer space?”

“Yes yes yes, whooshing between planets, using the hyperdrive to reach other stars, space combat, et cetera, et cetera,” McKay rambled. “Look, I don’t have much time. It took too long to even locate you, and the device holding the portal open is draining the ZedPM fast. We’re low on energy as it is, so I’m gonna need your answer soon.” There was a worried, almost pleading look in his eyes, as if there was more at stake than John could even imagine. “We need you, Sheppard, desperately. You wanted to be a hero, here’s your chance.”

And still, McKay was holding his hand, squeezing it tighter as his anxiousness grew.

John didn’t need much time to think. There was only one way he could, or wanted to answer. “Ok, let’s do it.” McKay seemed visibly relieved, his grip loosening slightly.

“Great! Now let me just...” with his other hand McKay fished a small item from his pocket, pressed a few buttons, and placed it against John’s chest. “This will help you shift into our universe, no time to explain how it works, but it should be mostly painless,” he explained. A sliver of doubt must have crossed John’s face, causing McKay to add: “Don’t worry, nothing will go wrong. I built the device myself.” He smiled smugly, and as John stared at his interestingly crooked mouth, it gradually started to become more opaque.

Glancing around, John noticed the walls of the mortuary slowly fade, changing into panes of coloured glass. The morning shift would have a true Halloween mystery in their hands when they arrived and checked the security tapes.

“Welcome to Atlantis, John Sheppard,” McKay announced as the new reality became the only one around him. Looking at McKay now, John spied a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Which he hadn’t noticed before, were really extraordinarily blue.

A few seconds later, when everything finally sank in, John was glad of the warm, steady hand holding his.

 

~~~ End ~~~

 


End file.
